Top Five Tips for Becoming a Better Writer by Julia Tagliere

1962 helped kick off a decade of tremendous change. President Kennedy bans all trade with Cuba. Jackie Robinson became the first African American elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Beatles recorded their first song together, and Illinois became the first U.S. state to decriminalize homosexual acts between consenting adults.

For Audrey Randolph, a young Midwestern wife and the main character in Widow Woman, by Minnesota author Julia Tagliere, 1962 also brought personal tragedy: her mother died suddenly, leaving behind a lifetime of letters, photos and unimaginable secrets. Audrey, stunned by her mother’s death and the subsequent revelations of past loves and lovers, can no longer trust the reality she has always known. She must come to terms with dual losses, both her mother's death, as well as the unanswered, nagging question: Was anything she knew real?

Tips for Becoming a Better Writer

Misery loves company: Join or create your own writers’ group. Don’t just join the first group you find; a good fit is critical. Look for like-minded writers who are supportive but honest; encouraging but not sycophantic. Try to find a mix of both accomplished and aspiring writers; everyone, no matter his or her level of experience, has something to share. If it’s truly misery to share your work with them, move on—it’s not the group for you.

Emulate, but don’t imitate, the Greats: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, it’s true. You can learn a great deal from studying The Greats, but beware of copying them. Rather, study those Greats to help prepare you for your own leap forward.

Get tough: One of the hardest things to do as a writer is to become comfortable sharing your work with other people. My advice? Suck it up. If you want your work to be read, you have to share it. But—you don’t have to share it with everyone right away. Share it first with people who will simply encourage you (your mom, your best friend), just to get over the hump of that initial terrifying exposure, then move on to people who will give you their honest opinions.

Learn how to listen: Speaking of honest opinions… even the best writers in the world rarely get it right the first time. Listen to feedback and take it seriously. There is, of course, a difference between critique, which is helpful, and criticism, which is not. Choose your beta readers and editor carefully and be open to their suggestions.

Find your own rhythm: Some writers work best first thing in the morning; some writers are night owls. Find what works for you and stick to it.

About the Author

Julia Tagliere is a freelance writer
and editor and studied in the M.F.A.
in Creative Writing program at
DePaul University. Her work has
appeared in The Writer and Hay &
Grower magazines and she is a
featured author at Buzzle. An
active blogger and past finalist in
The Loft Literary Center’s Mentor
Series Competition, Julia
currently lives in the Twin Cities
with her family and her writing
partner, a crazy Weimaraner named
Loki. Widow Woman is Ms. Tagliere’s
first novel.